WEBVTT 00:00:09.490 --> 00:00:11.830 Welcome back, friends. Today we're stepping into 00:00:11.830 --> 00:00:14.710 week two of our series, After the Wreckage, The 00:00:14.710 --> 00:00:17.710 Covenant Remains, where we're walking with the 00:00:17.710 --> 00:00:20.969 returned exiles as they try to rebuild a temple 00:00:20.969 --> 00:00:24.469 that doesn't quite look like anything from their 00:00:24.469 --> 00:00:28.649 memories. Hey guy, chapter two hands us a word 00:00:28.649 --> 00:00:31.969 for the weary. The ones staring at smaller stones 00:00:31.969 --> 00:00:34.950 and wondering if God still shows up in second 00:00:34.950 --> 00:00:38.789 chances. And before we head into the sanctuary 00:00:38.789 --> 00:00:41.750 together, let me say this. I know you may be 00:00:41.750 --> 00:00:44.049 driving, folding laundry, sitting on a porch, 00:00:44.210 --> 00:00:48.789 lying wide awake in the dark. It might be Tuesday 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:51.130 afternoon where you are, but here, right now, 00:00:51.210 --> 00:00:54.729 in your headphones, it's Sunday morning. And 00:00:54.729 --> 00:00:56.950 you've just wandered into our little church again. 00:00:57.740 --> 00:01:01.340 The one without walls. Grace sounds like a familiar 00:01:01.340 --> 00:01:04.120 voice coming through a little static. Settle 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:12.459 in, friend. I'll see you on the other side. So, 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:16.379 we are in week two of a series that we are calling 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:22.359 After the Wreckage, The Covenant Remains. And 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:26.170 last week, you were with us. We stood at the 00:01:26.170 --> 00:01:30.469 water gate with Ezra and Nehemiah, the remnant 00:01:30.469 --> 00:01:33.950 of the people of God, are beginning to return 00:01:33.950 --> 00:01:38.890 and rebuild Jerusalem, but things aren't going 00:01:38.890 --> 00:01:44.030 super great. And last week we found Ezra and 00:01:44.030 --> 00:01:47.689 Nehemiah encouraging the people in the word of 00:01:47.689 --> 00:01:51.090 the Lord. The walls were up, but the people themselves 00:01:51.090 --> 00:01:56.609 were hollow. And God didn't fix them with brick 00:01:56.609 --> 00:02:00.989 and mortar. He fixed them with the word. And 00:02:00.989 --> 00:02:04.969 if you recall, they wept when they heard it because 00:02:04.969 --> 00:02:08.189 they remembered who they were. This week, we 00:02:08.189 --> 00:02:10.469 move forward in the story. The word is returned. 00:02:11.969 --> 00:02:15.830 The walls are standing. And now God's people, 00:02:16.009 --> 00:02:20.449 they're doing what God's people have always done 00:02:20.449 --> 00:02:24.319 after the wreckage. They're building an altar. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:29.460 They're rebuilding the temple. But here is the 00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:35.939 problem. It doesn't look like much. In fact, 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:42.979 it looks embarrassing. Solomon's temple, the 00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:47.639 one Nebuchadnezzar leveled 70 years ago, that 00:02:47.639 --> 00:02:53.719 temple was the wonder of the ancient world. Cedar 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:58.780 from Lebanon, gold everywhere. The glory of God, 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:01.659 it is said, was so thick in places the priests 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:05.699 couldn't even stand to minister. This temple, 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:09.539 the one that they're stacking stones for here 00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:16.620 in 520 BC, it is a shadow. It is a whisper. It 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:24.870 is but leftovers. And there, There are old men 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:29.530 standing in the rubble who remember Solomon's 00:03:29.530 --> 00:03:34.189 temple. Who were kids when the Babylonians burned 00:03:34.189 --> 00:03:40.250 it down. And they're weeping. Not tears of joy 00:03:40.250 --> 00:03:47.349 this time. Tears of shame. Because what they're 00:03:47.349 --> 00:03:52.430 building doesn't measure up to what used to be. 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:59.080 And I wonder if you've ever been there. If you've 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.360 ever tried to rebuild something that got leveled 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:07.759 to the ground. I mean torn brick by brick. A 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:11.060 marriage, a ministry, a relationship, a sense 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:16.019 of purpose, and the best you could do feels like 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:22.899 an insult compared to what it used to be. That's 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:25.399 where we are this morning in Haggai chapter 2. 00:04:25.779 --> 00:04:28.639 That's the wreckage we're standing in today. 00:04:29.420 --> 00:04:34.439 The year is 520 B .C. Jerusalem, the 21st day 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:38.160 of the seventh month. The foundation of the temple 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:41.220 has been laying. The stones are going up, but 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:44.980 the work has slowed to a crawl because the people 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:50.060 who are building it can't stop looking backward. 00:04:52.750 --> 00:04:56.009 There are men with calloused hands standing in 00:04:56.009 --> 00:04:59.769 the courtyard, holding hammers that haven't swung 00:04:59.769 --> 00:05:04.449 in weeks. There are women carrying water jars 00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:07.509 who stopped halfway to the cistern just to stare 00:05:07.509 --> 00:05:11.550 at the skeleton of the building as of what once 00:05:11.550 --> 00:05:16.490 was. One that never will be, can never be as 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:20.970 good as the old one. And in the middle of all 00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:25.920 of it, There's a man named Haggai, a prophet, 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:32.819 an old man with a message from God. And God tells 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:38.459 him, go find Zerubbabel. Go find Joshua, the 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:41.300 high priest. Go find the remnant, the ones who 00:05:41.300 --> 00:05:45.420 made it back, the ones still standing, and tell 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:53.600 them this. Who is left among you who saw this 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:58.079 house in its former glory? How do you see it 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:05.639 now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? And this 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:08.920 isn't a rhetorical question. God already knows 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:13.019 the answer. They are. They're comparing. And 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:20.800 the comparison is killing them. Because when 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.500 you measure what you're building now against 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:26.800 what you had before, you always come up short. 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:31.519 Why? Because the past always has better lighting. 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:39.620 The memory will always be grander than the rubble. 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:43.480 But here's what God says next. This is where 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:46.370 the whole thing pivots. Yet now be strong, O 00:06:46.370 --> 00:06:48.970 Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:51.670 son of Jehoshadak, the high priest. Be strong, 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:54.069 all of you people of the land, declares the Lord. 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:59.810 Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of 00:06:59.810 --> 00:07:08.089 hosts. Three times, be strong. Not because this 00:07:08.089 --> 00:07:12.879 building is impressive. Not because the plan 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:17.540 is going well. Not because morale is high. Be 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:23.959 strong, the Lord of hosts says, because I am 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:28.720 with you. The glory of the second house is not 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:34.040 going to come from the size of the stones. It's 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:39.879 going to come from the presence of God. So, close 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:47.639 your eyes. For a moment. Come with me. You're 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:53.360 standing in the rubble. It's early morning. The 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:55.699 sun hasn't cleared the Mount of Olives yet, but 00:07:55.699 --> 00:07:58.360 the light is starting to catch the dust hanging 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:05.100 in the air. Your hands are rough. Limestone dust 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:09.540 is caked under your fingernails. Your back aches. 00:08:10.250 --> 00:08:12.370 from hauling blocks that are smaller than the 00:08:12.370 --> 00:08:16.209 ones your grandfather described. But they certainly 00:08:16.209 --> 00:08:18.730 feel heavy enough to make you wonder, is any 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:22.990 of this actually worth it? You look around, and 00:08:22.990 --> 00:08:26.250 there's Zerubbabel, the governor. He's standing 00:08:26.250 --> 00:08:29.589 near the eastern wall, and he's not giving orders. 00:08:30.569 --> 00:08:35.110 He's just staring at the foundation like he's 00:08:35.110 --> 00:08:38.830 trying to will it into being something more than 00:08:38.830 --> 00:08:44.210 it is. Joshua, the high priest, is here too in 00:08:44.210 --> 00:08:46.769 robes that used to be white, but now they're 00:08:46.769 --> 00:08:50.409 staying the color of the construction site. He's 00:08:50.409 --> 00:08:53.230 holding a scroll, probably trying to remember 00:08:53.230 --> 00:08:56.350 what measurements were even supposed to be for 00:08:56.350 --> 00:08:59.889 the Holy of Holies. The dimensions don't matter 00:08:59.889 --> 00:09:02.850 much when you don't have the gold to plate it 00:09:02.850 --> 00:09:07.590 or the skill to carve the cherubim anyway. And 00:09:07.590 --> 00:09:12.080 then there are those old men. Ones who were there. 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:17.000 The ones who saw Solomon's temple before Babylon 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:20.539 had torched it. They're standing off to the side 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:24.460 and they're not helping. They're just watching 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:30.120 and they're weeping. One of them keeps saying 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:34.940 it out loud. It was taller. The doors were wider. 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:38.320 I mean, you could just feel it when you walked 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:42.769 into it. And you want to stop and turn to them 00:09:42.769 --> 00:09:47.169 and tell them to shut up. Because we're trying 00:09:47.169 --> 00:09:50.990 here. You're doing the best with what you've 00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:54.649 got. But grief, friends, you know this is contagious. 00:09:56.769 --> 00:10:04.509 And now you begin to wonder. It's a point. I 00:10:04.509 --> 00:10:12.389 mean, if this is all we can build. If this is 00:10:12.389 --> 00:10:15.049 the best we could do after 70 years of exile, 00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:18.190 after all of the waiting and all of the prayers 00:10:18.190 --> 00:10:21.070 and all of the promises, maybe we should have 00:10:21.070 --> 00:10:26.330 just stayed in Babylon. At least there, we weren't 00:10:26.330 --> 00:10:31.669 haunted by what used to be. And Haggai shows 00:10:31.669 --> 00:10:34.929 up, the prophet, the old man, with the word from 00:10:34.929 --> 00:10:38.960 God, and he doesn't bring blueprints. He doesn't 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:42.220 bring funding. He doesn't bring cedar logs from 00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:47.620 Lebanon or a skilled craftsman from Tyre. He 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:55.919 brings a message. I'm with you. That's it. That's 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:01.279 the promise. Not this building will rival Solomon's. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:05.000 Not all the nations of the world will be impressed. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:12.919 Not... you'll get the glory back. Just, I am 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:18.480 with you. Somehow, that's supposed to be enough. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:22.559 Friends, the reading of the word this morning 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:26.019 from the prophet Haggai, second chapter of his 00:11:26.019 --> 00:11:30.460 prophecy, beginning verse one. In the seventh 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:32.759 month, on the twenty -first day of the month, 00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:35.299 the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:39.460 the prophet. Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son 00:11:39.460 --> 00:11:44.220 of Shittiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua, 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:48.580 the son of Jehozadek, the high priest, and to 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:52.080 all of the remnant of the people, and say, Who 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:55.000 is left among you as saw this house in its former 00:11:55.000 --> 00:12:00.259 glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:04.600 in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, 00:12:04.740 --> 00:12:10.320 declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.220 Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all of 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:16.860 you, the people of the land, declares the Lord. 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:26.549 Work, for I am with you. According to the covenant 00:12:26.549 --> 00:12:30.429 I have made with you when you came out of Egypt, 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:35.110 my spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For 00:12:35.110 --> 00:12:38.269 thus says the Lord of hosts, yet once more in 00:12:38.269 --> 00:12:41.330 a little while, I will shake the heavens of the 00:12:41.330 --> 00:12:45.139 earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will 00:12:45.139 --> 00:12:47.879 shake all of the nations so that the treasures 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:51.139 of all of the nations shall come in. And I will 00:12:51.139 --> 00:12:54.559 fill this house with glory, said the Lord of 00:12:54.559 --> 00:13:00.419 the hosts. Silver is mine. The gold is mine, 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:04.559 declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:07.480 of this house shall be greater than the former, 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:12.220 says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:18.500 give peace. declares the Lord of hosts, ascends 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:25.720 the reading of the word. We can hear that. For 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.620 standing there listening to Haggai, we're not 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:31.820 sure we believe it yet, but we pick up our hammers 00:13:31.820 --> 00:13:37.340 anyway. Because the God who brought you out of 00:13:37.340 --> 00:13:41.740 Egypt is still the God standing in the rubble 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:48.419 with you. The God whose spirit hovered over the 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:53.080 waters at creation is the same spirit that remains 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:59.679 in your midst. And maybe, just maybe, glory doesn't 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:03.100 come from getting it back to what it once was. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:10.639 Maybe glory comes from showing up anyway. and 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.299 trusting that God can fill a second house the 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:17.820 same way he filled the first. Not because you're 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:20.940 impressive, not because the building is magnificent, 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:30.360 but because he is with you. So let me ask you 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:36.029 a question. What are you comparing? What's the 00:14:36.029 --> 00:14:38.269 thing you're trying to rebuild right now that 00:14:38.269 --> 00:14:42.409 doesn't measure up to what it used to be? What's 00:14:42.409 --> 00:14:46.149 the temple in your life that looks like nothing 00:14:46.149 --> 00:14:51.850 compared to the glory days? Maybe it's your marriage. 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:54.710 You remember what it felt like in the beginning, 00:14:54.769 --> 00:14:57.610 the excitement, the ease, the way you couldn't 00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:00.940 wait to see each other, and now it's work. It's 00:15:00.940 --> 00:15:03.039 counseling appointments and hard conversations 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:07.019 and trying to remember why I said I do in the 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:11.259 first place. And some days, just like those folks 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:14.240 in the rubble, you begin to wonder if the effort 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:18.519 is even worth it because it will never be like 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:27.000 it once was. Maybe it's your faith. You used 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:32.399 to feel something when you prayed. Used to hear 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:37.259 God's voice. I mean, clear as a bell. Used to 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:41.039 open up your Bible and it felt alive. And now? 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:48.120 Now it's just discipline. Now it's showing up 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.539 the church out of habit. Now it's going through 00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:54.299 the motions and wondering if the glory ever really 00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:59.659 was there. Or if you've just been imagining it 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:06.080 all along. Maybe it's your body. You used to 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.460 be stronger, faster. You could work all day and 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:12.220 still have energy left. Now you're taking pills 00:16:12.220 --> 00:16:15.919 for things you didn't even know you had. And 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:21.039 the mirror shows you a different version of yourself 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.320 that doesn't seem to match the one of memory. 00:16:26.250 --> 00:16:29.629 Maybe it's your calling. You used to believe 00:16:29.629 --> 00:16:32.529 that God had something significant for you to 00:16:32.529 --> 00:16:39.149 do. You had vision. You had fire. And now you're 00:16:39.149 --> 00:16:41.809 stacking stones in a construction site that looks 00:16:41.809 --> 00:16:44.889 like an insult compared to what you thought your 00:16:44.889 --> 00:16:49.450 life was supposed to be. And here is what Haggai 00:16:49.450 --> 00:16:58.570 is preaching to. The thing that kills us. isn't 00:16:58.570 --> 00:17:07.089 the rubble. It's the memory. Those old men, they 00:17:07.089 --> 00:17:09.869 weren't crying because this temple was so ugly. 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:14.410 They were crying because it's not Solomon's temple. 00:17:15.549 --> 00:17:21.269 They were trapped by comparison. And comparison 00:17:21.269 --> 00:17:26.549 always, always, always leaves you discouraged. 00:17:28.809 --> 00:17:34.569 But here's what we need to see. God isn't interested 00:17:34.569 --> 00:17:39.529 in replicating what was. Guys, read the Bible. 00:17:39.650 --> 00:17:45.509 He never is. God is always interested in doing 00:17:45.509 --> 00:17:49.900 something new. Let me show you what God says 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:53.140 in verse 3. Who is left among you who saw this 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:55.339 house in its former glory? How do you see it 00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:59.680 now? Is it not as anything in your eyes? God's 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:04.460 not disputing their assessment. And he's not 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:07.519 saying, actually, if you squint, it actually 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:11.660 looks pretty good. He's acknowledging the reality. 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:17.440 Yeah, it's smaller. Yeah, it's less impressive. 00:18:18.809 --> 00:18:21.869 Yeah, compared to Solomon's temple, this thing 00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:27.609 looks like nothing. But then, this is the turn. 00:18:28.730 --> 00:18:34.190 He says, yet now be strong. Work, for I am with 00:18:34.190 --> 00:18:38.670 you. Glory isn't coming from the size of the 00:18:38.670 --> 00:18:42.589 stones. Glory is coming from the presence of 00:18:42.589 --> 00:18:48.809 God. And that's the lie we believe when we get 00:18:48.809 --> 00:18:55.109 stuck in comparison. We think the glory was in 00:18:55.109 --> 00:19:02.130 what we had instead of who's in us. Solomon's 00:19:02.130 --> 00:19:04.230 temple wasn't glorious because of the cedar or 00:19:04.230 --> 00:19:08.069 the gold. It was glorious because God's presence 00:19:08.069 --> 00:19:14.059 filled it. When the priests couldn't stand in 00:19:14.059 --> 00:19:15.980 certain places to minister because the glory 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:19.619 cloud was so thick. It wasn't about bad architecture. 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:23.480 That was about godly presence. And here's what 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:29.220 God is saying through Haggai. My presence is 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:33.440 not contingent on your ability to rebuild what 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:40.599 you've lost. My spirit. remains in your midst, 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:46.359 whether the building is impressive or not. Now, 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:48.579 let me take a second and dig into the theology 00:19:48.579 --> 00:19:50.740 here, because to me, this is where it gets really 00:19:50.740 --> 00:19:54.640 good. God says in verse five, my spirit remains 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:58.099 in your midst, fear not. That word remains in 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:02.390 Hebrew is omadet. And it means standing, abiding, 00:20:02.430 --> 00:20:05.730 or continuing. But what's interesting is it is 00:20:05.730 --> 00:20:11.390 in the present tense reality. Not my spirit will 00:20:11.390 --> 00:20:14.970 be with you someday when you finally get it together. 00:20:15.230 --> 00:20:18.710 Not my spirit was with you back then when things 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:23.769 seemed better. No, my spirit is standing in the 00:20:23.769 --> 00:20:29.500 middle of this rubble with you right now. And 00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:37.779 then, God reaches all the way back to Exodus. 00:20:39.380 --> 00:20:43.279 According to the covenant I made with you when 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:51.299 you came out of Egypt. Why does he bring up Egypt? 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.319 Because that's where the whole covenant relationship 00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:02.529 started. That is where God said, I am with you 00:21:02.529 --> 00:21:07.750 and I will bring you out. And what did they have 00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:16.369 in Egypt? Nothing. They were slaves. They had 00:21:16.369 --> 00:21:20.390 no temple, no city, no land. All they had was 00:21:20.390 --> 00:21:27.609 a promise. And God is reminding them and us. 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:33.640 Covenant has never been about what we can build. 00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:39.480 It's always been about what God promises to do 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:45.819 in the midst of our inability. The very same 00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:48.779 God who led them through the Red Sea with nothing 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:51.680 but a cloud and a pillar of fire is the same 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:56.240 God standing in this construction site in 520 00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:00.980 BC saying, I'm still here, you keep working. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:06.920 Then God says something a little wild in verse 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:12.869 6. Yet once more in a little while. I will shake 00:22:12.869 --> 00:22:14.869 the heavens and the earth and the sea and the 00:22:14.869 --> 00:22:18.130 dry land, and I will shake all nations so that 00:22:18.130 --> 00:22:21.490 the treasures of all nations shall come in, and 00:22:21.490 --> 00:22:25.529 I will fill this house with glory. Now, here's 00:22:25.529 --> 00:22:28.210 where we need to be careful. This isn't just 00:22:28.210 --> 00:22:33.609 about Zerubbabel's temple. This is actually eschatological. 00:22:34.829 --> 00:22:39.849 It's pointing forward, right? The writer of Hebrews 00:22:39.849 --> 00:22:44.259 in the New Testament. picks up this exact passage 00:22:44.259 --> 00:22:49.559 in Hebrews chapter 12, 26 and 27, says this shaking 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:53.079 is about the coming of the kingdom. The final 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:57.460 removal of everything that can be shaken so that 00:22:57.460 --> 00:23:02.960 what cannot be shaken remains. In other words, 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:07.980 God isn't just talking about this building project 00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:13.359 in 520 BC. He's actually talking about the whole 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:17.579 trajectory of redemptive history amongst humans. 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:24.299 And he's saying, I'm not done. The story isn't 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:29.539 over. And the glory you're mourning is nothing 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:35.859 compared to what's coming. Verse nine, the latter 00:23:35.859 --> 00:23:40.339 glory of this house. shall be greater than the 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:48.400 former. How? How could this little rebuilt temple 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:56.160 ever be greater than Solomon's? Because 500 years 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:01.329 later, a man named Jesus, God in the flesh, would 00:24:01.329 --> 00:24:05.170 walk into this temple complex and say, destroy 00:24:05.170 --> 00:24:09.089 this temple and in three days I will raise it 00:24:09.089 --> 00:24:13.769 up. And he wasn't talking about King Herod's 00:24:13.769 --> 00:24:20.289 renovations. He was talking about his body. The 00:24:20.289 --> 00:24:24.210 latter glory isn't greater because of what they 00:24:24.210 --> 00:24:28.509 built. It's greater because of who showed up. 00:24:29.710 --> 00:24:34.049 God didn't just dwell in the temple. God became 00:24:34.049 --> 00:24:41.529 the temple. Emmanuel, God with us. That is the 00:24:41.529 --> 00:24:45.910 trajectory that Haggai is pointing to. That is 00:24:45.910 --> 00:24:49.009 the hope that can sustain them in the midst of 00:24:49.009 --> 00:24:56.150 the rubble. So what do we do with this? Here's 00:24:56.150 --> 00:25:02.039 the word for us today. Show up anyway. Stop comparing 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:04.240 what you're building now to what you had before. 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:09.059 Stop measuring your present faithfulness against 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:14.180 some imagined glory. Stop waiting for conditions 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:17.279 to be just right or the resources to be adequate 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:21.380 or the vision to be clear. God is saying, be 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:28.670 strong, work, for I am with you. Friends, That 00:25:28.670 --> 00:25:35.089 is not God's inspiration for you. That is a command. 00:25:36.829 --> 00:25:42.609 Be strong. Not because you feel strong. Not because 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:46.549 the odds are in your favor. Not because you know 00:25:46.549 --> 00:25:50.329 how it's going to turn out. No. Be strong. Why? 00:25:50.630 --> 00:25:58.180 Because I am with you. And then, work. Not wait 00:25:58.180 --> 00:26:03.759 until you feel motivated. Not strategize until 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:08.799 you have a full proof plan. Work. Pick up the 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:13.119 hammer. Stack the stones. Do the next thing in 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:16.160 front of you. Even if it doesn't look impressive. 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:20.660 Even if the old men are weeping over what used 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:25.740 to be. Even if you're not sure the second house 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:30.420 will amount to anything at all. Because here's 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:35.299 the promise, the glory isn't your job. Presence 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:42.059 is his. Your job is to show up. His job is to 00:26:42.059 --> 00:26:47.819 fill what you build with his presence. And the 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:50.380 latter glory, the glory that's coming, the glory 00:26:50.380 --> 00:26:53.259 that walked into the temple in the personage 00:26:53.259 --> 00:26:55.900 of Jesus, the glory that's going to shake the 00:26:55.900 --> 00:26:58.500 heavens and the earth one more time, that glory 00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:05.000 will be greater than anything you lost. So, hear 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:08.619 this today. The walls may be up, but the work 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:12.980 is not done. The word has returned, now the temple 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:16.819 rises. Doesn't have to be impressive. It just 00:27:16.819 --> 00:27:21.859 has to be obedient. God's spirit remains in your 00:27:21.859 --> 00:27:26.380 midst. The covenant, friends, still holds. And 00:27:26.380 --> 00:27:30.420 the latter glory, the glory of Emmanuel, God 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:34.940 with us, always be greater than the former. So, 00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:41.599 be strong. Work. Because he is with you. Amen? 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:53.170 Amen. Hey, wherever this found you today, knees 00:27:53.170 --> 00:27:55.529 deep in the wreckage or standing in the half 00:27:55.529 --> 00:27:57.630 -built courtyard of your own life, hear this. 00:27:58.589 --> 00:28:01.890 God does some of his best work in places that 00:28:01.890 --> 00:28:05.609 don't look like much. And he's not asking to 00:28:05.609 --> 00:28:09.950 rebuild the past you've lost. He's asking you 00:28:09.950 --> 00:28:12.029 to trust the presence that still stands with 00:28:12.029 --> 00:28:15.630 you even when the stones are smaller and the 00:28:15.630 --> 00:28:20.019 future feels thin. The glory was never yours 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:23.740 to manufacture. The strength was never yours 00:28:23.740 --> 00:28:27.700 to muster. Your part is to show up. His part 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:32.700 is to fill the house. So be strong. Do the next 00:28:32.700 --> 00:28:36.960 fateful thing. And don't you forget, spirit remains 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:41.779 in your midst. Now, before we go, let me speak 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:44.180 plainly from this little bitty church in Oklahoma, 00:28:44.380 --> 00:28:47.380 this whole thing you're listening to. It's just 00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:49.740 me, a microphone, and a congregation that still 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:52.380 believes grace travels through the static. We 00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:54.440 put these little services out because somebody 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:57.519 out there might need a word, same way we needed 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:00.839 it once. So, if you'd like to throw your like 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:02.940 in the offering plate, well, that helps keep 00:29:02.940 --> 00:29:06.660 the porch light on. And if you want to know when 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:09.039 we're having church again, go on and tie that 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:11.980 subscribe button. That way, you'll hear the church 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:13.799 bells when we ring them next Sunday morning. 00:29:13.859 --> 00:29:16.960 Until then, friend. Walk in the rubble with courage. 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:21.119 May His presence be your strength. I'll see you 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:35.079 next time. Listen up, saints. This ain't no live 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:38.819 stream gospel show. We're preaching under the 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:42.680 tin roof tonight. You want to keep this fire 00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:47.549 burning? Then toss that like right into the plate. 00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:52.630 It tells the angels this old tent's still full. 00:29:53.589 --> 00:29:57.789 Come on now, throw it in the plate.